Refreshment is found in the Gospel

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, DiscipleshipLeave a comment

“But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.” (Acts 3:18)

Jesus’ suffering was not God’s plan B. It was and always has been plan A. From before the foundations of the world God planned for Jesus to come and die for you. What an amazing plan! What love the Lord has for us!

Admittedly it is difficult to fathom how the Father would give His Son for a rebellious people. But the Father did. He didn’t do it on a whim, instead He did it as part of a plan so that we might be rescued from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light (Col. 1). He rescues us in order to win a people for His Son so that we might glorify Jesus for all eternity in the future kingdom to come. He did it so that we might be drawn up into the eternal love relationship the Trinity has with one another.

Understanding what Jesus has done for us, we are called to repent and enjoy fellowship with Jesus and to experience the hope of the future kingdom to come.

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” (Acts 3:19-21)

Those who repent, turning to Jesus as Lord and Savior, not only experience future hope, but they also experience present refreshment. Don’t we need refreshment from the grind of the world? Don’t we need relief? We can have it in a relationship with Jesus.

Turn to Jesus today. Trust in Him whether you would call yourself a non-believer or a believer. The gospel is for everyone. We never move past it. We only go deeper into it, experiencing salvation, hope, refreshment, even in the midst of a nation that is leaning more and more post-Christian.

Be sure in your witness for the Lord is with you

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

In the same way that the first witnesses were empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel to the world, we are empowered as well.

When you go out “On Mission”, you do not go out in your own strength. You are empowered by the Holy Spirit. As you speak His Word, He drives that into the heart of man, convicting and calling them to Himself.

Be sure in your witness for the Lord is with you.

God’s Word Provides Hope

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” (Ps 119:130)

I am struck by the Psalmist continued reference to God’s Word. It is that which gives light in today’s passage. It imparts understanding.

God’s Word illumines the darkness. It guides us as we walk through a world that lives in the domain of darkness. But we have God’s Word which provides safe passage through the darkness. It informs us in how we are to live and act.

As well as God’s Words helps us to understand who God is, who we are, and why the world is so messed up. It, however, doesn’t leave us in hopelessness. God’s Word also points us to the answer to the messed up situation in which we find ourselves. It points to the Messiah. The Savior who was planned before the foundation of the world to rescue a lost and dying world from darkness.

Turn to God’s Word today and every day thereafter. It should be what we pick up when we are seeking answers, guidance, and hope.

God, help us delight in your Word

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” (Ps 119:37)

The Psalmist asks the Lord to turn him from those things that are worthless. The things that will not bring joy, satisfaction, and life. Those things that are contrary to God’s will. In place of worthless things, he asks that God would give him life, which is found in God’s ways.

As you read through the remainder of the section, you realize God’s ways are found in God’s Word. His ways are found in His law (Ps 19:34). They are found in His commandments (Ps 19:35). They are found in His rules (Ps 19:39) and his precepts (Ps 19:40). While each of these words have nuanced meanings, they all essentially point back to God’s Word. It is His Word that provides life as we live according to his law, commandments, rules, precepts, teaching, and wisdom found therein. It is no wonder the psalmist says that he delights in God’s Word (Ps 19:35).

We should delight in God’s Word as well. And our prayer, our ask of God should be for Him to help us turn from those things that are worthless to life which is found in His ways.

Spend some time this morning asking the Lord to help you delight in His Word.

Why Reading God’s Word is Important

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”

(Ps 119:9)

God’s Word is the answer for how we are to live. It represents God’s will for our life. When we read it, meditate on it, and allow it to influence the way we think and act, we are living in line with God’s holiness. Our thoughts and actions will be pure.

God’s Word, however, doesn’t enter our life by accident, osmosis, or through the efforts of others. We must personally invest in it, realizing it makes us richer than all treasures (Ps 119:14).

The best way to store God’s Word in your heart, to begin meditating on it, is to read it (Ps 119:11, 15). To actually dive into the the text of Scripture. Not a devotional or a book about the text, but the Scriptures themselves. There is a place for devotional reading and commentaries. They help us understand apply the text but we must not forsake our own time of mining the riches out of God’s Word.

What Scripture did you read today?

Through the difficulties of life, do you believe the Lord is there?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” – Psalm 118:4

God is a God of steadfast love. We can trust the Lord day in and day out. Because the Lord walks with us, carries us even, we can rejoice in the valley as well as on the mountain tops.

The Lord cares for those who are His. As the psalmist says in verse 27,

“The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.” – Ps 118:27a

Do you believe the Lord is shining on you day in and day out? Through the difficulties of life, do you believe the Lord is there? Do you believe the Lord is in the valley just as He is on the mountain top?

Our God is a God of steadfast love. He never leaves us despite the position in which we find ourselves. God is always there.

In Luke 12:22 Jesus provides these words of comfort to the anxious when He says,

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. – Luke 12:22

God knows our needs. He will provide for our needs. As we daily depend on Him to provide, we grow in our understanding of and in our trust and dependence on God. Life is not about us amassing so much wealth that we can live comfortable lives (see Luke 12:13-21). If God gives us with wealth and the ability to live without worry of money, that is a blessing. But a comfortable life is should not be our goal. That is the American dream, not God’s will for our life. Sometimes we must live uncomfortably, if we even know what that is as middle class Americans, to grow in our trust of God’s provision, care, and steadfast love.

Our God is a God of persistent love. When we recognize God’s persistent love and presence is our life through His day to day provision, we can and will give thanks to the Lord. We can say that He is good. We should praise and worship Him despite our circumstances.